


Winter of Ashes

by Cryssalia



Series: Fairy Tales and Folk Lores [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Actually I don't know what to put here, F/F, F/M, Oh yeah lots of drama, a slow burn, like super slow, so enjoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23669677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryssalia/pseuds/Cryssalia
Summary: "Humans are the roots of problem, Faunus makes them worse and Grimm are the byproducts of their negativity. Are you still saying that this world can be saved?"
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: Fairy Tales and Folk Lores [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573159
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Winter of Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, after years this story is finally up. I can't promise for regular updates but hopefully I'd continue this story until the end. Enjoy!

When Ruby first came into the world, she had hoped to see a lot of things. The sky, the mountains, the forest, her family. She had been excited to see them, especially with her mother and sister constantly chime with how great the world will be when she can open her eyes. So, when the day had come, she couldn’t wait any longer.

She opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was…

Nothing.

Just nothing.

Did she do it wrong?

She tried again.

Still nothing.

But she could hear, which was something.

Her mother crying. Her father assuring. Her sister silent.

_“Mom? Did I do something wrong?”_

She had asked.

She wondered if it was a prank. A surprise prank, so her family could surprise them with something more exciting.

_“Can I open my eyes now?”_

No one answered, but she took it as a yes. She tried to open her eyes.

They won’t budge.

As if something holding her eyelids down.

She tried again.

She couldn’t.

Everyone was silent.

Her hands reached up to her eyes.

Or where they should be anyway.

Instead of blindfold like she hoped for, she felt flowers.

A flower crown? But they were over her eyes!

_“M-mom? Dad? Sis?”_

She called.

And still couldn’t see.

* * *

How long has it been? A month? Maybe added a couple of weeks in there. Fifteen years since she lived in the forest. Lived in the bed of roses.

Now, for the first time since she was born, she finally able to step foot outside that confinement.

She was outside.

She will meet new people. New place.

New life.

She felt her hood pulled over her head, a single tap on her shoulder and soft fingers brushing her bangs away from her cheeks and nose.

“Just hold my hand, okay?”

It was Weiss.

She smiled.

“What makes you think I would let go?” She answered.

Weiss chuckled.

They moved, but careful.

She felt great space surrounding her. She stretched her left arm. She felt no tree nor bush. Her feet heavy against the ground. She stomped, prompting Weiss to glance at her. Ruby imagined she was on a dirt or stone path. Her lips spread into a grin.

She tried to open her eyes.

…oh.

Oh.

She can’t.

How could she forget?

Her lips contracted and drooped. Her head lowered. Her arm returned to her side.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Weiss asked.

Of course, she would notice.

Ruby turned to where her voice came from. She lifted her head.

And smiled.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” She answered.

She turned back forward. She took a deep breath, focusing every energy in her, her aura, to her eyes. The outlines of the living things became visible; the surrounding trees and bushes, chirping birds and squirrels scurrying about in the trees.

She turned to Weiss.

She saw how close she was to her.

Weiss seemed to notice since she waved.

She giggled.

“Don’t use too much. You still need energy to walk.” Weiss said.

She was right. She was starting to feel sluggish. She stopped and squeezed Weiss’ hand.

She did the same.

For someone who claimed herself as the Ice Queen, she was awfully warm.

Ruby loves it a lot.

She absolutely loved it when Weiss would rub her knuckles with her thumb. They would tickle in the most comforting way. Ruby would do the same, and they would laugh when they become ticklish.

She really wanted to see Weiss smile.

But her laughter would be enough.

* * *

When you lived in the forest by yourself for your whole life, you rarely made any contact with another human being. You sat there in your bed of roses, counting petals and days passing by while your sister and father get to roam around the world.

_But without you as a burden._

The thought dawned on Ruby.

She sighed.

“You don’t have to remind me…” she muttered.

_I wouldn’t if you don’t leave your home._

“I want to go out like Yang and dad do.”

Ruby bet people were looking at her weird. They’d probably whispering to each other that a girl with roses on her face was talking to herself. She bet they would have been horrified to see the sight.

If only she could see them.

Ah, no use to think that, Ruby.

“We’re in a village now, Ruby,” Weiss said. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

She shook her head.

“Well, I need to drop by the general store for rations. Do you want to come inside?”

She wondered what the general store is and how it looked like. She tilted her head.

“Ah, it’s a place that sells a lot of things like food, drinks, medicine. They have candy too. I can get you some.”

Even when she didn’t ask for it, Weiss would try her best to tell her about places they would be visiting. Like how she described the village:

_“I guess… they have some houses, a store, an inn where I stayed. Things like that. The village is small, anyway.”_

It wasn’t much of a description, but her father always said she has an active imagination.

“Candy sounds nice. But I’d like to stay outside,” Ruby answered.

“Would you be okay?”

There was a hint of worry.

Ruby giggled.

“I’ll be fine, Weiss. I won’t stray far.”

She honestly would rather stay out of her way while doing anything. It would be a problem if people saw her on closer look.

Finding out she’s blind? Not a problem.

Letting them see the roses on her face? A big fat no.

She’s a _freak._

She shook her head quickly.

“What’s wrong?” Weiss asked.

Ruby flustered.

“N-nothing.”

She stood by the door of the store while Weiss entered. Ruby carefully moved herself towards the stairs. She held onto the railings, felt the floor with her feet until she felt the ledge what could be the stairs and lowered herself to sit.

She looked up, towards the streets, and searched for Auras. Some tall, some short, one was running on four. She assumed it was an animal, a dog, like Zwei but taller.

She noticed two figures; green and orange Auras shaped like children. The green one seemed to be facing her, or maybe away. She couldn’t tell. But it was growing larger. Then, she felt something touched her right foot.

“Miss, can you pass the ball to us?!” A boy called.

She perked up.

So they were playing.

But she soon felt nervous.

How far is the ball from her?

Sure, it touched her foot. But that didn’t mean the ball was _that_ near to her. She could try to grab for the ball and then throw it to the boy and be done with it.

Or she could just tell him she’s blind.

But if the ball IS near to her, the boy needs to approach her close enough to grab it himself.

And risked herself to be discovered.

She gulped.

“S-sure!” She said.

It wasn’t that hard. Just bend down, feel for the ball, grab it and then throw it. It’s so simple, Ruby.

She held the railing and carefully moved herself to the bottom of the stair, one hand stretched out to feel for the ball. Her heart thumped. She prayed for the ball to be close so she could just grab it, make it look like she can see it.

Then, her hand touched something.

The ball! She thought.

She lifted it up.

Something felt not right.

The kids were yelling. Something like, “Miss, that’s not the ball!”

If it wasn’t the ball, then what was she holding?

Her fingers fondled. It was furry. She could feel what she thought was a snout. She used her Sight. Outlines of an Aura formed on the thing she was holding. She froze.

It was a dog.

She yelped as she pulled back, but the dog growled and bit her hand. It wasn’t hard, it was more like a warning bite. But it startled her, and she yanked back.

Without her realize, her hood was pulled off her head.

There were more gasps.

And children screamed.

“A witch!!!”

Ruby’s heart sank.

A witch? Where is she? Who is-

“Ah!”

She held her head. Something got her fingers and hair wet. Trembling, she brought her hand to her face. She could smell metal from it.

_Blood._

Her stomach churned but it was interrupted by sharp heavy object hitting her. She shielded her head with her arms and cried each time they hit her. She didn’t know what they were throwing, but she knew so much the words they cry.

“You damn witch!!”

“Freak!”

“Get out of here!!”

Ruby couldn’t see them. Whatever it was would hit her if she ever lifted her head. She ducked onto the stairs, curling up and whimpered. She hardened herself, to endure the increasing pain, but there was no way she could.

She wants to leave now.

She wants Weiss.

_“W-Weiss…”_ She cried softly.

She heard cries that didn’t come from her. They weren’t cries of anger, for sure. Rather, cries of shock. She felt cold and frost crusted on her cloak. Her hand was grab and she was yanked off the stairs to a run. Ruby couldn’t process anything at this moment. She couldn’t tell whose hand was holding hers.

The cries of the village became faint echoes behind her.

And slowly… they disappeared.

It was silent.

Except for the thumps of her and the person’s feet on the ground.

“ _S-stop…_ ”

And they did.

The hand that was holding her was released, and moved to her shoulders, her face, her cheeks.

She whimpered and ducked into her shoulders. The hands moved and she heard rubber being peeled off. Immediately, she felt the familiar warmth on her cheeks.

She looked up; her Sight activated.

It was Weiss.

“Look at this! What were they thinking?!” she cried. “How dare they?! I’m not done with them anyway-…”

“N-no! Please! Just… n-no…” Her head hung low. “L-let them be…”

“What? Ruby, aren’t you feeling them? You’re hurt and bleeding! They attacked you for no reason!”

“That doesn’t mean we should do the same, Weiss… I’ll… I’ll be fine…”

Her hand crawled to hold Weiss’ hand on her cheeks. Though Weiss couldn’t see them, she knew Ruby was frowning, but mustered up a smile.

“I’m glad you’re here now…” She whispered.

Weiss sighed. Her right hand pulled away and gently placed near her bloodied head. Blue Aura engulfed her hand and the coldness slightly startled the younger girl. Ruby let out a shaky sigh, her shoulders relaxed.

“I can only temporarily freeze the wound… I still need to treat it and probably wrap it up. Is that okay?” She asked.

Ruby nodded. She felt Weiss’ hands leaving her face and head and heard water falling on the ground. She yelped when a wet cloth touched her hand but soon relaxed when she felt Weiss’ fingers brushed against her hand. Then the cloth touched her head and soon enough, it left.

“I’ve cleaned the blood. We’ll find somewhere else to treat it, okay?” Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded again. Eagerly this time. She just wants to leave the village, the people, the _voice_ that constantly chided her for leaving the forest.

_Barely an hour and you’re already caused trouble._

She expected less from it, anyway.

But when Weiss held her hand, it immediately made her ignore the voice. She raised her head when she tapped her shoulder. She squeezed her hand and they both continued forward.

* * *

Blake would love to have a warm bed and hearty breakfast, but such luxury would only cause herself to be compromised to both humans and Faunus. So, camping out in the forest and hunt or scavenge anything she could find was her only choice.

And, she had Yang.

Yang is a Fire Demon, which means there’s a chance she would end up burning something in the inn they would sleep. Neither of them would want that.

Of course, it’d be lying if she says that Yang’s touch doesn’t burn her skin and charred her clothes. It hurts, but she can’t blame her. Yang, herself, still hesitant to hold her hand or even let her fingers brushed against her palm. She only does if Blake insisted.

The Faunus looked at the girl before her touching the end of a twig to create a flame. She carefully lowered it into the dying campfire and it instantly sprung back to life. They were startled by the strong fire and Yang quickly inhaled some of it until it became bearable. She huffed in satisfaction and relief.

“Does it hurt doing that?” Blake asked.

Yang looked at her and instantly beamed, “Do what?”

“That. You breathed in the fire.”

“Nope!” She grinned, “I’m the fire itself! They won’t hurt me, not even a bit!”

_“So she’s fireproof inside out, huh…”_ She thought.

Yang stared, a habit that she exhibited ever since they partnered up. Most of the time, Blake would stare back and tilted her head in confusion. Then they caught up in a staring contest for an unknown set of time, or the Faunus would take the opportunity to observe her.

Blake noticed that Yang’s short cream hair would grow into a golden mane down her back and glowed bright after around ten minutes or longer. But she also noted that her lilac eyes won’t change to red when that happens. The last time they did was when she massacred the White Fang Faunus and the lieutenant two weeks ago.

She wondered if it’s okay to ask, but she might as well take the shot.

“Yang, can I ask you some questions about you?” she asked.

“Getting our relationship to the next level, I see? You’re so bold, kitty cat.” Yang playfully wiggled her brows and grinned.

“What? T-that’s not what I’m trying! I… I just want to ask some questions!”

Blake’s cheeks flushed red and her ears drooped while Yang burst out laughing and held her gut. Once she quieted down, she sighed and sat up straight.

“Okay, shoot. I’m ready when you are.”

Blake huffed. Her ears perked back up, “No bad jokes, okay? And if you think my questions are getting personal, you can skip it.”

Yang nodded, and she continued, “How long have you been a Fire Demon?”

Her eyes rolled up for a moment before she returned her attention to her, “Since I was a kid, I guess. One day I was playing near my home and BAM!” She raised her arms as she made the sound, “Fire in my hands!”

“But how can you tell it’s a Fire Demon power instead of Semblance?”

“Qrow told me.” Her tone became somber, “Dad tried to hide it and avoided telling me when I asked but Qrow was the one that told me the truth. Not that it’s wrong that he told me that, he’s my uncle, after all.” She sighed, “I just wish my dad didn’t try to hide it. I still don’t know why he did, though…”

“And… your mom? Your BIRTH mom, I mean.”

“I don’t even know her.”

Blake could feel the anger in her voice and she slowly nodded. She made some mental notes, thought about her next question and looked at Yang. Her face was soft, and she seemed like she was waiting. She took it as a permission.

“Can your dad create fires like you do?”

She tilted her head upwards before she slowly shook her head. Blake nodded again.

“What about your other mom? Summer Rose, was it?”

“Normal, just like my sister.” Her eyes downcast. She did that whenever either Summer or her sister were mentioned.

“And… what about them?” She pressed.

“That’s… that’s it, I guess… I mean, she’s not really MY mom. She’s Ruby’s mom.”

“But she took care of you. Don’t that make her your mom, too?”

Yang frowned, this time. She lowered her head. “I… I want to skip that…”

“Sure…”

Blake knew something about them hurts her. She knew that so much. She could press her more, but at the same time, Yang didn’t even know about her background. It wasn’t fair for her to ask her about it while she kept hers.

So she dropped it.

There was something else that she really wanted to know.

“Yang, did you ever meet other Fire Demons out there?”

Yang perked up. This time, she was slightly interested with the question.

“Other Fire Demons? Huh…” She tapped her chin, “Honestly, I’m not sure. I could’ve met them, just don’t know they’re actually one.”

“Oh, you can’t sense your kind?”

“Sense? Well, now that you mention it… I can detect heat if that’s what it is. I can’t really tell how far though, or if I can tell a person’s normal body heat or a demon.”

Blake nodded. She looked down, making mental notes of those info, and briefly closed her eyes. Her thoughts returned to that fateful night.

The night the demon struck her home.

The night the demon devoured her mother.

Till this day, she didn’t know why she was spared from the horrors of devour. She wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or regret.

She looked back up to Yang.

She sighed shakily.

“Yang… have you ever… turned into a creature about 10-feet tall and… destroyed a village?”

It was silent except for the crackling of twigs. Blake gulped, noticing Yang stared at her intensely. Her lilac eyes kept her focus and didn’t blink once. The Faunus grew nervous. Her legs were ready to launch herself up to the tree and run if her partner ended up bursting in flames.

Then, Yang leaned back and shrugged.

“Nope! Never happened!”

Blake loudly sighed which made Yang tilted her head in confusion. The Faunus fell on her back and pulled her pack to use it to cushion her head.

“You’re not gonna read tonight, Blake?”

“I think I’d skip for tonight. You did say we should be early tomorrow so you can go back to Patch.”

Blake yawned before turning away from the fire. She closed her eyes, but not before she said goodnight to Yang.

She made a couple of mental notes and decided to write them down in her journal when she gets the chance.

There were more questions she would like to ask.

But those can wait for another day.


End file.
